volume pedal suggestions.

[Guest Jecklin]

Hello all.

Anyone got user based experience with  volume pedals?
I need one for a new project and would like to spend as little as possible (sigh).
Quite tempted to make one, but on the other hand it is a lot quicker to buy one.

I don't need anything with lights telling me how much signal is going through (I can hear that). Don't need anything with added gain either so totally passive.

Any info' etc gladly received.

Cheers
Thomas

Edited February 20, 2012 by Jecklin

[Mykesbass]

Bespeco is a cheap and cheerful brand and pretty good value for money.

[mike257]

I was shopping for one for my guitar board and ended up grabbing a George Dennis 'Wizard Rock' volume/distortion pedal for under £20 on eBay. They seem to be discontinued, but one shop in the states had them listed at $200 brand new!

It's an optical volume pedal, so no pot to wear out and get noisy, and it's active so can be placed anywhere in your signal chain with no worries about impedance etc - doesn't have any added gain, just allows you to cut. They do a full range of effects (Wah, mod effects, a few drive effects) built on the same optical volume pedal chassis - you can quite easily ignore whatever effect is on board and use it purely for volume control if that's all you need, the way the switch is fitted you would have a hard time accidentally engaging it. Well worth grabbing if you see one at a good price, much better than the cheap plastic volume pedals floating around ebay.

EDIT: Just seen this one: [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/George-Dennis-Wah-Volume-Pedal-/160743023548?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item256d07e3bc"]http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/George-Dennis-Wah-Volume-Pedal-/160743023548?pt=UK_Guitar_Accessories&hash=item256d07e3bc[/url]

Edited February 21, 2012 by mike257

[Doddy]

I've used an Ernie Ball for a few years now. They aren't particularly cheap but they are really solid and have a good
sweep,which is something I find is lacking in many cheaper pedals.
The Visual Volume and the Dunlop volume pedal are good too.

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1329838885' post='1548258']
Ernie Ball[/quote]

This. If you want the best pedals you can get, looks at what the yankee lapsteelers use... things like Goodrich, Shobud, Hilton (the dbs - yum, yum) - pricey, but you can find them used for reasonable money.

[1976fenderhead]

Yeah, Ernie Ball user here too. The new Dunlop seems to be good as well, but it's MASSIVE...

Bespeco are a bit sh*t but I guess if you want to spend as little as possible they'd probably be good enough...

[EBS_freak]

[quote name='1976fenderhead' timestamp='1329840891' post='1548312']
Yeah, Ernie Ball user here too. The new Dunlop seems to be good as well, but it's MASSIVE...

Bespeco are a bit sh*t but I guess if you want to spend as little as possible they'd probably be good enough...
[/quote]

Yeah, just checked out the website for the Dunlop... does seem nice.

[1976fenderhead]

[quote name='EBS_freak' timestamp='1329841560' post='1548326']
Yeah, just checked out the website for the Dunlop... does seem nice.
[/quote]

I've just read that they intend to release swappable pots. That would be great, as with one pedal you could adapt it to passive, active or expression pedal uses. I actually had to sell one Ernie Ball to buy another one with a different pot to use for expression, as even if you swap the pot they won't work properly...

[Guest Jecklin]

Briliant,

Thanks everyone. Some good things to consider.

Cheers
Thomas

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='1976fenderhead' timestamp='1329840891' post='1548312']
Yeah, Ernie Ball user here too. The new Dunlop seems to be good as well, but it's MASSIVE...

Bespeco are a bit sh*t but I guess if you want to spend as little as possible they'd probably be good enough...
[/quote]

Unless they've gone way down hill in the last 5/6 years I'd have to disagree, they used to be very good budget kit.

[1976fenderhead]

[quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1329850763' post='1548560']
Unless they've gone way down hill in the last 5/6 years I'd have to disagree, they used to be very good budget kit.
[/quote]

I bought one new I was using as an expression pedal (it was meant for that usage as well as volume) and the toe down position would 'decalibrate' mid-use... So say you'd rock it forward and it would go to max value, than back and forward again, it would only go to 90-something percent. Then back and forth again, it would top on a different value. Rubbish. Also, it would cause no change to the effect for a bit in the beginning of the sweep, and then suddenly move very fast to say a third - it didn't sense movement for about the initial third of the sweep. And the range of movement was so short it was very hard to control it with any precision.

None such problems with the Ernie Ball.

[Mykesbass]

[quote name='1976fenderhead' timestamp='1329877772' post='1549085']
I bought one new I was using as an expression pedal (it was meant for that usage as well as volume) and the toe down position would 'decalibrate' mid-use... So say you'd rock it forward and it would go to max value, than back and forward again, it would only go to 90-something percent. Then back and forth again, it would top on a different value. Rubbish. Also, it would cause no change to the effect for a bit in the beginning of the sweep, and then suddenly move very fast to say a third - it didn't sense movement for about the initial third of the sweep. And the range of movement was so short it was very hard to control it with any precision.

None such problems with the Ernie Ball.
[/quote]

Fair enough - shame, they used to be a reliable budget option. Looks like, as with everything, as the price gets driven further and further down and the raw materials get more expensive something's got to give

[Doddy]

I had a Bespeco volume pedal about 13/14 years ago (it was one of my first pedals),and it did the job
if you wanted to go from off to on,but anything in between was pretty much useless. It didn't have much
of a sweep and only seemed to do anything in extreme positions. There was also a noticeable volume
drop between having it in the chain and not.
In fairness they do the job if you just want to mute your signal for a minute,but otherwise you're better
off buying a decent one instead.

[Guest Jecklin]

[quote name='Doddy' timestamp='1329912318' post='1549477']
I had a Bespeco volume pedal about 13/14 years ago (it was one of my first pedals),and it did the job
if you wanted to go from off to on,but anything in between was pretty much useless. It didn't have much
of a sweep and only seemed to do anything in extreme positions. There was also a noticeable volume
drop between having it in the chain and not.
In fairness they do the job if you just want to mute your signal for a minute,but otherwise you're better
off buying a decent one instead.
[/quote]


That's good to know, thanks.
I'll be using the pedal for sweeps (this isn't being used for electric bass), so a good degree of graduation is important. It has to go from totally silent too,
Looks like I should up my budget.

[ahpook]

i use an alesis F2 and am quite happy with it. i bought it as a expression pedal, but it does both jobs admirably.

Edited February 23, 2012 by ahpook

[Guest Jecklin]

Oh no, it's got even more complicated.

I have no idea what the impedance of my pick up system is, but intend to run the pedal after fuzz as I don't want the change in volume to alter the characteristics and response of the distortion, so i'll be looking at a low impedance pedal (I assume).
Would be great if pedal manufacturers could include a trim pot inside to change the impedance so we could taylor the pedal to it's position in a chain.

Plus I need a pedal that is visually quiet. Some of these beasts are hard to ignore. Oh well.

[nbtone]

[quote name='merchant' timestamp='1329743107' post='1546550']
Hello all.

Anyone got user based experience with volume pedals?
I need one for a new project and would like to spend as little as possible (sigh).
Quite tempted to make one, but on the other hand it is a lot quicker to buy one.

I don't need anything with lights telling me how much signal is going through (I can hear that). Don't need anything with added gain either so totally passive.

Any info' etc gladly received.

Cheers
Thomas
[/quote]

I has a BOSS volume pedal that I used for a while, but it was too sensitive. It went from zero to wide open, and made it easy to make too big of a change. I found that by stripping the expression pedal out of an old church organ and mounting it on a piece of plywood that I was happier. I used the pots that came with it and only had to add two 1/4" jacks to make it work. The range of volume change is limited, but that's what I need.
Just a suggestion,
Cliff

[mike257]

[quote name='merchant' timestamp='1329956291' post='1550561']
Oh no, it's got even more complicated.

I have no idea what the impedance of my pick up system is, but intend to run the pedal after fuzz as I don't want the change in volume to alter the characteristics and response of the distortion, so i'll be looking at a low impedance pedal (I assume).
Would be great if pedal manufacturers could include a trim pot inside to change the impedance so we could taylor the pedal to it's position in a chain.

Plus I need a pedal that is visually quiet. Some of these beasts are hard to ignore. Oh well.
[/quote]

Impedance is only really an issue with passive (unpowered) pedals. An active pedal like the George Dennis I mentioned in my last post will happily sit anywhere in your chain regardless of the impedance on either side of it.

[pete.young]

I have a Morley Little Alligator which I picked up through the classifieds in this forum for not much more than a new Bespeco.

Very good bit of kit, being able to set the minimum volume to a threshold is really useful for avoiding those 'where did the sound go' moments. Although it does fall down on the 'visually quiet' requirement.

[I am not excane]

Ernie Ball all the way. Solid and reliable. Gigged with mine for the better part of 10 years.

[alhbass]

[quote name='mike257' timestamp='1331419424' post='1572755']
Impedance is only really an issue with passive (unpowered) pedals. An active pedal like the George Dennis I mentioned in my last post will happily sit anywhere in your chain regardless of the impedance on either side of it.
[/quote]

I'm interested in this - don't understand the impedance thing at all. I use a boss volume pedal (passive) between my Sansamp RBI and my MarkBass LMK head (for swells mainly). Not even sure whether mine is high or low impedance, but I'd be interested to know what it 'should' be... Also, I'm wanting to add a second volume pedal, this time to adjust only the level of the Octaver sub-bass output (the signal chain is split so the lower octave output can be EQd and mixed seperately) - what impedance should I look for here? I'd be grateful for technical advice. Thanks.

[paulmcnamara]

Morley

[John_P]

If it's to plug a passive bass into with no other pedals than I higher impedance is better, if it's to go after a buffered pedal than a low imp type is fine, I bought a cheap Ernie Ball 25K as it was going at the end of a pedal chain so works fine.

Ernie Ball are great (I have two) and the jr version saves a bit of space.
Dunlop and Boss 500 are good. The smaller boss is plastic but still ok.
Morley are nice as well but need power.

tbh it's hard to go wrong but I'd have a think about whether you need a tuner output (handy), metal or plastic construction and if powering it would be a pain.